Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao announced on Monday that their fight will take place on September 19 at the Sphere event in Las Vegas, which will be broadcast worldwide on Netflix.
That would be amazing…in 2011.
Instead, we get what looks like a cash grab built on nostalgia – mostly for something that never was. This is equal parts depressing and telling about the state of boxing, including the fact that even after two opulent and illustrious careers, both fighters are clearly in dire need of money.
Mayweather is 49 years antique; Pacquiao, 47. A decade and a half ago, at their peak, they should have had two or three fights, creating a series or trilogy for the history books; two of the greatest fighters in history will step into the ring to honor the greatest fighter of his generation.
Pacquiao’s offensive tenacity against Mayweather’s defensive genius. It could have been Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier stuff.
Boxing fans salivated, debated it endlessly, and begged for it to happen. Instead, a combination of politics, caution, recriminations, and who knows what else stopped it from happening in 2010-2012.
They finally met in 2015, when Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in a mostly listless fight. It set box office records due to pent-up demand, even though Pacquiao had already begun to fade significantly.
Now we have a sequel to a bad movie. It’s not even “Caddyshack II.” At least the original was a classic.
“Floyd and I gave the world the greatest fight in boxing history,” Pacquiao said in a statement on Monday. “The fans have waited long enough – they deserve this rematch.”
“Biggest” in terms of suckers spending money on what they hoped to see, not what they did. As for boxing fans, they don’t do it – haven’t they suffered enough? Few, if any, asked to escape.
The first fight grossed at least around $400 million, but despite that payday and all the other fights in their careers, both fighters are still struggling. Mayweather made about $1 billion in his career, but it happened reportedly sued earlier this month by a Miami jeweler for bouncing checks in an alleged $1.675 million shopping spree (15 gold watches, 26 luxury watches).
This is the likely motivation not only for this fight, but for the even more farcical exhibition match on April 25 against 59-year-old Mike Tyson, which will reportedly take place in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mayweather doesn’t need 26 Rolexes to know time is running out.
At its best, there is nothing like a great fight for rewards, waiting, danger and build-up. It is original and has captivated audiences for centuries.
But the sport has become mired in make-believe, too few breakout stars, too few real fights. This has led to too many circus acts masquerading as real shows that sell the illusion but fizzle out when the bell rings.
There are still moments, but the best current fighters in the world are having a difficult time breaking through, at least in the United States.
Oleksandr Usyk, the undefeated heavyweight champion and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to ESPN, remains largely unknown outside of boxing, with his fights mostly taking place in Europe and Saudi Arabia. No. 2 Naoya Inoue is a whirlwind of junior featherweights – and a four-division champion – but suffers the same fate, competing mostly outside Japan, where he is one of the country’s most popular athletes. Terence “Bud” Crawford has retired. Canelo Alvarez is at the end of his career. If anything, it’s the women’s game with Claressa Shields, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano all doing well.
In the US, Jake Paul has smartly stepped into the void, serving the gigantic fight market – and even risking his jaw to do so. For all its commercial success and the much-needed attention it brings, it’s not top-level boxing.
The popularity of combat sports has always depended on the ups and downs of great stars and great personalities. Boxing has experienced droughts before, but there is always the belief that a up-to-date wave of talent, charisma and competition will come. Recently, however, the decline has been more pronounced. The mechanisms that make fighters widely known have weakened. Alternative entertainment options have multiplied.
The worst thing about Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 isn’t that it’s happening, but that it could happen because there aren’t enough compelling fights or must-see fighters that the market is ready for that is such a shameless spectacle.
The point is that sport cannot provide Sfera and Netflix with something real.
Instead, we get the sequel no one asked for, born from the belated original, starring two middle-aged men who have clearly squandered enough of their wealth that, like the sport they once dominated, have no other option.
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